Crossword Genius

Frame airline before start of hijack (4)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

sash

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'frame' is the definition.
(I know that sash is a type of frame)

'airline before start of hijack' is the wordplay.
'airline before' becomes 'sas' (I can't explain this - if you can you should believe this answer much more).
'start of' indicates taking the first letters.
The first letter of 'hijack' is 'h'.
'sas'+'h'='SASH'

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for sash that I've seen before include "Window frame; silk band" , "Framework to hold the panes of a window" , "Ribbon worn over the shoulder" , "Window frame - shoulder band" , "(Uniform) strip; window-frame" .)

I've seen this clue in The Guardian and The Times.
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